Quote:
Originally Posted by crich70
I imagine when books went from Clay Tablets to Scrolls and thence to Manuscripts (prior to printed books) that there were some people who weren't happy about it. In a sense we've come full circle from a Tablet to a Tablet.  |
And some people, I think Socrates was one of them, were against the written word in general, arguing that it would have a deleterious effect on the human psyche (or mostly on memory).
They were right, too. After literacy spread memorization skills deteriorated. This would be seen as a big blow by many ancient philosophers, as they valued memory highly and thought it the central piece of the unique personality of each human being.
Nothing is free. It's all a question of trade offs. We have better access to information, but a worsened capacity to actually remember it. Is it worth it? Probably. But it's not a clear cut case of progress=better, in my view.
Going from the tactile and physical book reading experience is also going to have some cost. We may not be able to pinpoint it exactly at this point, and it may well be negligible compared to the benefits, but it's still worth considering.
In my case comparing physical book reading with LCD screen reading it's clear that both my memory and focus suffer from the latter. Not only do I forget more of the material, but I find it harder to focus on any single task having used an LCD screen. Whereas reading paper or e-ink is calmer and more focused with better recall.